Tuesday, November 29, 2005

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 November 29, 2005 11 4:07 p.m. 12 13 14 15 REGULAR SESSION 16 17 18 19 LT. GOVERNOR MARY O. DONOHUE, President 20 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 please come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to please 5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of 6 Allegiance. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 THE PRESIDENT: With us this 10 afternoon to give the invocation is the 11 Reverend Peter G. Young, from Blessed 12 Sacrament Church in Bolton Landing, New York. 13 REVEREND YOUNG: Let us pray. 14 Dear God, as we enjoy today's 15 unseasonably warm weather, we are all well 16 aware of the change in the cold days ahead. 17 As we prepare for the temperature change, we 18 honor, in today's resolution for Rosa Parks, 19 the courage to make and to spark the necessary 20 social changes in our society for all 21 citizens. 22 O God, we ask You to assist all 23 those confirmed today to implement their 24 responsibilities for the citizens of New York 25 State. We ask You to give them, the

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(518) 371-8910 1 confirmandi, the energy, the integrity, and 2 the good health to perform their legislative 3 mandates as members of the Empire State 4 leadership team. 5 O God, bless the members of this 6 Senate body as they gather in this preholiday 7 session in Your name. 8 Amen. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the 10 Journal. 11 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 12 Monday, November 28, the Senate met pursuant 13 to adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, 14 November 27, was read and approved. On 15 motion, Senate adjourned. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Without 17 objection, the Journal stands approved as 18 read. 19 Senator Bruno. 20 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 21 can I ask for an immediate meeting of the 22 Finance Committee in Room 130 of the LOB. 23 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an 24 immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in 25 Room 130 of the LOB.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Presentation of petitions. 2 I'm going to ask for order, please. 3 Any conversations should be taken out of the 4 room. Thank you. 5 Presentation of petitions. 6 Messages from the Assembly. 7 I'm going to wait for order, 8 please, members. Thank you. We'll start 9 again. 10 Presentation of petitions. 11 Messages from the Assembly. 12 Messages from the Governor. 13 Reports of standing committees. 14 Reports of select committees. 15 Communications and reports from 16 state officers. 17 Motions and resolutions. 18 Senator Bruno. 19 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 20 I believe, under resolutions, that there is a 21 special resolution at the desk by Senator 22 Paterson. I would ask that it be read in its 23 entirety and move for its immediate adoption. 24 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 25 will read.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: By Senators 2 Paterson and Parker, Legislative Resolution 3 Number 3027, commemorating the life and legacy 4 of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks. 5 "WHEREAS, It is the practice of 6 this Legislative Body to publicly take note of 7 and acknowledge those rare individuals of 8 exceptional character whose courage and moral 9 fortitude changed for the better the course of 10 our nation's history; and 11 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 12 concern, and in full accord with its 13 long-standing traditions, this Legislative 14 Body shall pause to honor the contributions of 15 a true American hero, the late Rosa Louise 16 McCauley Parks; and 17 "WHEREAS, Activist, author, 18 educator, mentor, public servant, recipient of 19 the Congressional Medal of Honor, Rosa Parks 20 was, without question, one of the most revered 21 and significant humanitarians of her 22 generation; and 23 "WHEREAS, Born into segregation 24 deep in the Jim Crow South, Rosa Parks spent 25 the next 92 years of her life standing for

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(518) 371-8910 1 freedom. This foremother of the civil rights 2 movement died on October 24, 2005; and 3 "WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was a tiny 4 woman -- small in stature, soft-spoken, 5 humble -- who held a strength of conviction so 6 powerful its force would be felt for decades 7 to come; and 8 "WHEREAS, We have come to know well 9 that historic day, 50 years ago, on the first 10 of December, when Rosa Parks ignited a 11 movement of justice through the utterance of 12 one single word: no; and 13 "WHEREAS, When she said no, when 14 she refused to relinquish her seat for a white 15 passenger, she was saying no to unequal 16 treatment, no to passive acceptance, no to 17 racial hatred. In refusing to stand, Rosa 18 Parks, in fact, rose up high over an 19 oppressive regime; and 20 "WHEREAS, The resulting 381-day 21 Montgomery Bus Boycott amounted to a movement 22 of justice of such paramount importance, the 23 likes of which had never been seen before; at 24 personal sacrifice, and with extraordinary 25 grace, Rosa Parks marched into battle against

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(518) 371-8910 1 Jim Crow and arose, eventually, triumphant; 2 and 3 "WHEREAS, The year 2005 marks 50 4 years since the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It 5 also chronicles the loss of Rosa Parks and a 6 great number of other luminaries of the civil 7 rights movement; and 8 "WHEREAS, This is a time for 9 reflection and recommitment, a time to 10 remember what Rosa Parks offered to us. Hers 11 was a vision of pure democracy, of one nation 12 where we stand together as equals, united in 13 solidarity as citizens of this great United 14 States; and 15 "WHEREAS, As we celebrate Rosa 16 Parks's memory, let us pledge to aspire to 17 live as honorable a life as she lived; now, 18 therefore, be it 19 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 20 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate 21 the life and legacy of Rosa Louise McCauley 22 Parks." 23 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, 25 Madam President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Many years ago, Madam President, 2 the first person invented fire. And although 3 I think it's likely that they were burned at 4 the stake that they taught their brothers and 5 sisters to light, nonetheless, they offered 6 the world a gift that had never been perceived 7 and forever lifted darkness from the face of 8 the earth. 9 Throughout the centuries, there 10 have been women and men who have taken first 11 steps down new roads armed with nothing but 12 their own vision. They fought, they suffered, 13 and they paid -- but they won. What they won 14 was freedom. And today we're here to 15 celebrate one of those people. 16 Rosa Parks, who died 38 days before 17 the fiftieth anniversary of the Thursday 18 afternoon while riding home from work when she 19 refused to relinquish her seat on the bus to a 20 white customer and move to the back of the 21 bus, which had been the custom and tradition 22 in the deep South, was laid to rest on 23 October 24th of her 92nd year, but not before 24 having changed the 20th century and all 25 centuries to follow, as the great lady of

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(518) 371-8910 1 freedom that she was. 2 An interesting side note, Madam 3 President, is that Rosa Parks was not the 4 first person to refuse to relinquish her seat 5 on a bus that year. The first woman, who was 6 taken off the bus in July of 1955, got into a 7 fight with the police, and therefore the 8 advocates didn't think this was a particularly 9 good case to make the issue of segregation 10 when in fact this person had assaulted some of 11 the police officers. 12 The second woman was taken off the 13 bus in September of 1955. She was an unwed 14 mother, and at that time it was believed that 15 that moral issue would supersede the 16 humanitarian issue of equality. 17 And so it was only when Rosa Parks 18 took this decisive action on December 1st that 19 many in the civil rights movement saw her -- 20 as an educator, a mentor, a public servant, a 21 member of organizations that were trying to 22 bring freedom to that area -- as the perfect 23 test case. 24 But to some degree, the meaning was 25 lost down through the decades that Rosa Parks

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(518) 371-8910 1 had planned on doing this. Her statement, the 2 honest statement, was that that day she had 3 just basically gotten tired of being abused 4 and oppressed under that system. It gave rise 5 to 381 days of boycotts from people whose 6 names we don't know, whose families we don't 7 remember, but whose gestures were just as 8 important and are symbolically recognized as 9 we do here today with Rosa Parks. 10 One of those people who went to and 11 fought on behalf of those in the boycotts was 12 the late Justice Constance Baker Motley, who 13 lost her life just a few weeks before Rosa 14 Parks. And we celebrate her as well. 15 It is a different culture that we 16 live in. It seems so long ago. But there are 17 people in this room who were in the South 18 during that time who remember those oppressive 19 conditions. We even have a New York state 20 senator, Senator Bill Larkin, who actually was 21 part of the Selma March, when he was sent by 22 the National Guard to make sure that the 23 marchers could get from Selma to Montgomery 24 without losing their lives. 25 So though it may seem a long time

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(518) 371-8910 1 ago to the young people of society today, they 2 really need to know the story of Rosa Parks 3 and all those who struggled unremittingly and 4 courageously -- black and white, young and 5 old, throughout the South and throughout 6 America -- to bring economic, political, and 7 social justice to this land. 8 We're not all the way there yet, 9 Madam President, but certainly we'd be 10 significantly further back had it not been for 11 the contribution of this great lady of 12 freedom. And I'm happy that we pause in our 13 deliberations to celebrate her moment at this 14 time. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Does any other 16 member wish to be heard? 17 Then the question now is on the 18 resolution. All in favor please signify by 19 saying aye. 20 (Response of "Aye.") 21 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 24 adopted. 25 Senator Paterson.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR PATERSON: Madam 2 President, Senator Parker and I would be 3 delighted to open the resolution so that all 4 members who are interested can go on the 5 resolution. And we open the resolution at 6 this time, with your permission. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno, do 8 you have any objection? 9 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 10 Senator Paterson, for that honor. 11 And I would recommend to the chair 12 that all of the members in the Senate be added 13 to the resolution unless they would approach, 14 privately, the desk. 15 And thank you very much, Senator 16 Paterson and Senator Parker. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 18 Senator Bruno and Senator Paterson. 19 Any member who does not want to 20 cosponsor the last resolution, please notify 21 the desk. 22 Senator Bruno. 23 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 24 can we at this time adopt the Resolution 25 Calendar in its entirety.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 2 adopting the Resolution Calendar please 3 signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye.") 5 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 6 (No response.) 7 THE PRESIDENT: The Resolution 8 Calendar is adopted. 9 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 11 SENATOR BRUNO: If we can return 12 to reports of standing committees. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Reports of 14 standing committees. 15 SENATOR BRUNO: And I believe in 16 the resolution that we just adopted there are 17 a number of appointees that do not require 18 appearances for confirmation. And can we 19 start taking those up at this time. 20 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 21 will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 23 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 24 following nominations: 25 As a member of the Crime Victims

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(518) 371-8910 1 Board, Jacqueline C. Mattina, Esquire, of 2 Orchard Park. 3 As members of the Metropolitan 4 Transportation Authority, John H. Banks III, 5 of Brooklyn, and Mark Page, of Brooklyn. 6 As members of the New York State 7 Housing Finance Agency, Herbert E. Berman, 8 Esquire, of Brooklyn, and John L. Dimarco, of 9 Pittsford. 10 As members of the Central New York 11 Regional Transportation Authority, Robert E. 12 Colucci, Jr., of Syracuse; Nicholas F. Laino, 13 of New Hartford; and Darlene De Rosa 14 Lattimore, of Auburn. 15 As a member of the Port of Oswego 16 Authority, William F. Shannon, of Oswego. 17 As a member of the 18 Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation 19 Authority, Frank Vitagliano, Jr., of Warsaw. 20 As a member of the New York State 21 Olympic Regional Development Authority, J. 22 Patrick Barrett, of Manilus. 23 As a member of the State Board of 24 Historic Preservation, Elizabeth L. Watson, of 25 Cold Spring Harbor.

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(518) 371-8910 1 As a member of the Albany Pine Bush 2 Preserve Commission, Steven K. Rice, Ph.D., of 3 Rexford. 4 As a member of the Allegany State 5 Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation 6 Commission, Wendy Myers Brand, of Allegany. 7 As a member of the Saratoga-Capital 8 District State Park, Recreation and Historic 9 Preservation Commission, Thomas O. Maggs, of 10 Scotia. 11 As a member of the Fire Fighting 12 and Code Enforcement Personnel Standards and 13 Education Commission, Gerald W. Lynch, of 14 New York City. 15 As members of the Lake George Park 16 Commission, James T. Kneeshaw, of Queensbury, 17 and Thomas J. Morehouse, of Ticonderoga. 18 As members of the Medical Advisory 19 Committee, Stoner E. Horey, of Canisteo; 20 Norman R. Loomis, M.D., of Ontario; and Gavin 21 Setzen, M.D., of Slingerlands. 22 As director of the Municipal 23 Assistance Corporation for the City of 24 New York, Jonathan A. Ballan, Esquire, of 25 Scarsdale.

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(518) 371-8910 1 As director of the New York State 2 Environmental Facilities Corporation, Francis 3 T. Corcoran, of Bedford Corners, and Robert J. 4 Fischer, of Pittsford. 5 As a member of the Advisory Council 6 on Agriculture, Maureen J. Torrey Marshall, of 7 Elba. 8 As members of the State Council on 9 the Arts, Elaine Wingate Conway, of 10 Bronxville, and Laurie Tisch Sussman, of 11 New York City. 12 As a member of the Mental Health 13 Services Council, Eli B. Hoch, Ph.D., of 14 Rego Park. 15 As a member of the Minority Health 16 Council, Maggie Blackburn, M.D., of 17 Harpersfield. 18 As members of the State Hospital 19 Review and Planning Council, Howard S. 20 Berliner, of New York City; Renee Garrick, 21 M.D., of Bedford; Kevin N. Hill, of Pittsford; 22 Jeffrey A. Kraut, of East Meadow; and Stephens 23 Marshall Mundy, of Plattsburgh. 24 As a member of the Board of 25 Visitors of the Bronx Psychiatric Center,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Sandra Unger, of the Bronx. 2 As members of the Board of Visitors 3 of the Finger Lakes Development Disabilities 4 Services Office, Sue Lesage, of Rochester, and 5 Patricia Ann Power, of Palmyra. 6 As a member of the Board of 7 Visitors of the Middletown Psychiatric Center, 8 Ann Marie Maglione, of Middletown. 9 As a member of the Board of 10 Visitors of the Metro New York Developmental 11 Disabilities Services Office, Joan S. Laufer, 12 of New York City. 13 As a member of the Board of 14 Visitors of the New York State Home for 15 Veterans and Their Dependents at St. Albans, 16 Denis J. McEneaney, of Broad Channel. 17 And as a member of the Board of 18 Visitors of the South Beach Psychiatric 19 Center, Linda B. Wilson, of Staten Island. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson, 21 to move the nominations. 22 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 23 nominations. 24 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 25 the nominees as read by the Secretary, please

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(518) 371-8910 1 signify by saying aye. 2 (Response of "Aye.") 3 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 4 (No response.) 5 THE PRESIDENT: The nominees are 6 all so confirmed as read by the Secretary. 7 Senator Bruno. 8 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 9 can we at this time take up the nominees that 10 were required to appear before the committee 11 and before the Senate. 12 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 13 will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 15 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 16 following nomination: 17 As Commissioner of Environmental 18 Conservation, Denise M. Sheehan, of Niskayuna. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson. 20 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 21 nomination. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 23 Marcellino. 24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 25 President, as chairman of the Committee on

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(518) 371-8910 1 Environmental Conservation in the Senate, it 2 was my pleasure to interview, with the entire 3 committee this morning, then acting 4 Commissioner Sheehan and soon to be 5 Commissioner Sheehan. 6 She has served the department well 7 and will continue to serve the department 8 well. This is one of Governor Pataki's finest 9 nominations. 10 And I'm pleased to move the 11 nomination and second it and yield the floor 12 to Senator Farley. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Farley. 14 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, 15 Mr. Chairman, whose voice is leaving him. 16 Let me just say that Denise 17 Sheehan, who is my constituent from Niskayuna, 18 has served for 11 years in the Division of the 19 Budget. She's eminently qualified. She's 20 been an acting commissioner. 21 And during the Finance Committee, 22 member after member said how they had dealt 23 with her personally and how she had solved 24 every problem and was very diligent. 25 And incidentally, I think the DEC

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(518) 371-8910 1 commissioner's job is one of the most 2 difficult ones in government. It has all 3 kinds of competing interests, and she has 4 handled that with great grace and 5 effectiveness. 6 Denise is a very, very 7 well-qualified person who has come up through 8 the ranks of government and has served us 9 well. Her husband and so forth is also in the 10 Legislature. And she's an outstanding mother 11 and a great asset to government. And it's 12 another example of Governor Pataki's wonderful 13 appointments. 14 And I enthusiastically second her 15 nomination. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Breslin. 17 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you, 18 Madam President. 19 I have -- Senator Farley talks 20 about the commissioner living in his district. 21 The commissioner was born and raised in my 22 district and is the daughter of -- smart 23 enough to move? 24 (Laughter.) 25 SENATOR BRESLIN: Particularly if

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(518) 371-8910 1 you happen to have an "R" after your name. 2 But she's the daughter of public 3 school teachers. I happen to know her father 4 very well, who is a frequent visitor to my 5 office and exemplifies what volunteerism is in 6 his retirement years. 7 And Denise, in her role as acting 8 commissioner, has exemplified what being a 9 good commissioner is. And I think she will -- 10 I know she will continue to prove herself at 11 the commissioner level, and I commend the 12 Governor for the nomination. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 15 can I add my comments and congratulations to 16 Denise. 17 She is not a mystery to anyone. 18 She's been serving, as has been mentioned, as 19 acting commissioner since February '05, when a 20 vacancy occurred. Ten years as a budget 21 examiner with EnCon. Worked with the Clean 22 Indoor/Outdoor Act, helped with the Bond Act. 23 Just has really an extraordinary record. 24 And it's all recognized that it's 25 quite a challenge, as has been mentioned, to

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(518) 371-8910 1 manage 3,350 people and a budget of a little 2 under a billion dollars. 3 So this is a very wise appointment 4 by our great Governor George Pataki. I 5 commend him, commend Denise on her good work 6 presently and in the future. 7 Thank you, Madam President. 8 THE PRESIDENT: The question now 9 is on the nomination of Denise M. Sheehan, of 10 Niskayuna, as Commissioner of Environmental 11 Conservation. All in favor please signify by 12 saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 15 (No response.) 16 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 17 hereby confirmed. 18 Congratulations and best wishes. 19 (Applause.) 20 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 21 will continue to read. 22 THE SECRETARY: As Commissioner 23 of Transportation, Thomas J. Madison, Jr., of 24 Waterford. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson,

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(518) 371-8910 1 to move the nomination. 2 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 3 nomination. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous. 5 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam 6 President. 7 It is indeed an honor for me to 8 stand before this body this afternoon and talk 9 about a native son from Broome County who will 10 be our next transportation commissioner. 11 Tom Madison has been a friend of 12 mine for the last 19 years and certainly has 13 worked for this administration and worked for 14 many of you in this room over the course of 15 the last ten years. 16 Earlier today, when the nominee was 17 before the Transportation Committee, it was 18 great to hear a number of my colleagues share 19 stories about how Acting Commissioner Madison 20 had already jumped in, worked with them 21 one-on-one to solve little and large problems 22 that existed. 23 He was on the job just a couple of 24 days, and there was a terrible mudslide in the 25 North Country. Then I believe there was

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(518) 371-8910 1 another mudslide down in New York City, and 2 then the closure of the Dunn Memorial Bridge. 3 So he was thrown in immediately, and he 4 handled each one of those situations with 5 great temperament and great management and 6 leadership skills. 7 So it is an honor for me to stand 8 before this body and move the Governor's 9 nomination. The Governor has made a great, 10 great appointment here. 11 And I'm pleased to see that Tom is 12 joined by his wife, Tracy, his mother, Pat, 13 and his father, Tom. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, Madam 16 President. 17 And I also commend and congratulate 18 Tom Madison. Tom knows the roads of New York 19 State extremely well. And he, by the way, is 20 my constituent, living in the great 43rd 21 Senatorial District. And that's wisdom and 22 vision by itself. Rides his motorcycle to 23 work, checks out the roads, and does all of 24 the right kinds of things. 25 You talk about a challenge; here,

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(518) 371-8910 1 he has a challenge. He has met challenges. 2 So we can all be proud of the good work that 3 he does on behalf of the entire constituency 4 of New York State. 5 So congratulations to Tom, his 6 wife, Tracy, who is very supportive -- 7 probably rides on the back of that motorcycle, 8 a very brave lady -- and I believe Brooks, his 9 son, is here, and daughter, Morgan. 10 Congratulations to all of you and 11 your parents, Tom, who I'm sure are proud, and 12 your mom, Pat. Congratulations to all of you. 13 Thank you. 14 (Applause.) 15 THE PRESIDENT: The question now 16 is on the nomination of Thomas J. Madison, 17 Jr., of Waterford, as Commissioner of 18 Transportation. All in favor signify by 19 saying aye. 20 (Response of "Aye.") 21 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 24 hereby confirmed. 25 Congratulations and best wishes.

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(518) 371-8910 1 (Applause.) 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 3 will continue to read. 4 Senator Bruno. 5 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 6 can we at this time recognize Senator 7 Paterson. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson. 9 SENATOR PATERSON: Madam 10 President -- and, Madam President, I'd like to 11 thank the Majority Leader for just this 12 moment. 13 I would just like to commend to my 14 colleagues a great accomplishment that one of 15 us has achieved in the last few weeks. 16 Senator Byron Brown, who was elected to the 17 Senate in the year 2000 and served from 2001 18 to 2005, is going to leave us at the end of 19 the year and become the mayor of one of our 20 largest cities, Buffalo, New York. 21 I just wanted to recognize that and 22 congratulate Senator Brown at this time. 23 (Extended applause.) 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Madam 25 President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson. 2 SENATOR PATERSON: I'm not sure 3 if that collective enthusiasm was because of 4 Senator Brown's great achievements, which we 5 all concede, or that there's one less Democrat 6 in the Senate. But we appreciate it all the 7 more. 8 (Laughter; applause.) 9 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 10 will please continue to read. 11 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 12 the New York State Employment Relations Board, 13 Dean H. Leith, Jr., of Troy. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 16 I'm proud to stand on behalf of the nomination 17 of Dean Leith. 18 Dean Leith is from Troy, a neighbor 19 of mine. He is a man who goes back a lot of 20 years in community service and in public 21 service. Co-partner of a company that many of 22 us knew around here that started as a startup 23 and over the years, with Dean mentoring that 24 company, grew to employ about 1,100 people, 25 had sales of about 150 million.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Dean left the company in, I think, 2 1990 and went on into an early retirement from 3 business but an active, more active life in 4 the community, starting up in supporting 5 community gardens in the Capital Region, the 6 Rensselaer Historic Society, I think past 7 chair of the board, and just has done an awful 8 lot of good things and good work. 9 So there isn't a better nominee to 10 take the position that Dean will be taking to 11 help arbitrate and to help settle some 12 important issues in people's lives. 13 I'm proud to move the nomination. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson. 15 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 16 nomination. 17 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 18 the nomination of Dean H. Leith, Jr., of Troy, 19 as a member of the New York State Employment 20 Relations Board, please signify by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 23 (No response.) 24 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 25 hereby confirmed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Congratulations, Dean. Best wishes 2 for continued success. 3 (Applause.) 4 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 5 will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 7 the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 8 Donald Cecil, of Harrison. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson. 10 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 11 nomination. 12 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 13 Donald Cecil, of Harrison, as a member of the 14 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, please 15 signify by saying aye. 16 (Response of "Aye.") 17 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 18 (No response.) 19 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 20 hereby confirmed. 21 Congratulations and best wishes to 22 you. Please stand. 23 (Applause.) 24 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 25 will read.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 2 the Board of Trustees of the State University 3 of New York, Michael E. Russell, of East 4 Setauket. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson. 6 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 7 nomination. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Flanagan. 9 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you, 10 Madam President. 11 I'd just like to speak briefly on 12 behalf of Mike Russell, who is not Senator 13 Bruno's constituent, he is my constituent. 14 And just briefly about Mike, one of 15 the things that we're all going to enjoy is he 16 has a tremendous experience in the business 17 sector, he's been on a lot of boards, working 18 with not-for-profits all across Long Island. 19 He has talent and expertise and experience 20 that will serve not only the university but 21 its students and all the people of New York 22 very well. 23 He's a great guy, he's a hard 24 worker. I'm proud to call him my friend, and 25 I will be proud to call him trustee, hopefully

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(518) 371-8910 1 very soon. 2 And Senator LaValle. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator LaValle. 4 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 5 Senator Flanagan. 6 Madam President, it's with great 7 pleasure that I rise to move the nomination of 8 Mike Russell. This is indeed one of the 9 Governor's best picks for the SUNY board. 10 At a time when the system is 11 expanding opportunities for students, Mike 12 will use his expertise that he gained on the 13 Stony Brook council, the work that he's done 14 for students and student athletes at the 15 university, his interest in health care -- and 16 we have three university hospitals that are 17 very important to the SUNY system, and Mike 18 will use that expertise. 19 But most important is that he is 20 truly a great humanitarian. And I often say 21 to him he should have been a social worker. 22 Instead, he went out into the business world 23 and made his way in finance. And he will 24 bring that expertise to the board. 25 So he is really so well-rounded.

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(518) 371-8910 1 He knows how to be a good board member. He 2 has the students' interest at heart. And I 3 know he is extremely energetic, and we are 4 lucky to have that energy and wisdom that he 5 will bring to the board. 6 Good luck to you, Mike. 7 (Applause.) 8 THE PRESIDENT: The question now 9 is on the nomination of Michael E. Russell, of 10 East Setauket, as a member of the Board of 11 Trustees of the State University of New York. 12 All in favor please signify by saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 15 (No response.) 16 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 17 hereby confirmed. 18 Will you please stand. And best 19 wishes for success. 20 (Applause.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 22 will continue to read. 23 THE SECRETARY: As Commissioner 24 of the Tax Appeals Tribunal, Charles H. 25 Nesbitt, of Albion.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson. 2 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 3 nomination. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 5 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, Madam 6 President and colleagues. 7 Charlie, Charles Nesbitt, Charlie 8 Nesbitt we all know as one of the leaders here 9 in the Legislature. Charlie was in business, 10 served 14 years in elective office, a lot of 11 those years as a leader in the Assembly. 12 Charlie distinguished himself, 13 really, in the military. Part of the Air 14 Force, Charlie, and he actually got the 15 prestigious Air Medal for ten years of 16 service, served in Vietnam, flew helicopters. 17 Courageous, a patriot. 18 And he goes on now to another 19 challenge, having worked diligently on behalf 20 of the public, recognizing the need for taxes 21 and also recognizing that to keep businesses 22 and people here in the state and competitive, 23 that everything has to be in balance. 24 So he will serve there just as he 25 served in the service, just as he served in

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(518) 371-8910 1 the Assembly and as leader, he will serve with 2 great distinction. 3 And I'm proud to move Charlie's 4 nomination and also proud of the Finance 5 Committee, who unanimously moved him to the 6 floor, Madam President. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Maziarz. 8 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 9 much, Madam President. 10 In keeping with the spirit of the 11 day, Charlie Nesbitt happens to be a 12 constituent of mine. 13 I want to say that in the 11 years 14 that I have been here in the rough-and-tumble 15 world of governing and of politics, you could 16 not have a better partner than Charlie 17 Nesbitt. 18 As all of us who are members of the 19 Legislature and those who work here in the 20 Legislature know that sometimes, believe it or 21 not, there are challenges between members; 22 sometimes it goes as far as to say there are 23 ill well between members. 24 And I can tell that you every day, 25 from the day I announced I was running for the

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(518) 371-8910 1 New York State Senate until this very day, 2 today, Charlie has never been anything but 3 professional, been straight with me in 4 everything that we've done. 5 He's worked very hard for his 6 constituents in Orleans County and Niagara 7 County, in Monroe and in Genesee County. 8 I know Charlie -- and I'm going to 9 miss you in the Legislature, but I know this 10 is a challenge that you look forward to and I 11 know that Kim looks forward, I think, to you 12 not spending as much time in Albany, and your 13 kids. And I just wish you well. 14 This is a great appointment by the 15 Governor. And, Charlie, you're going to do a 16 good job. And I just want to thank you 17 publicly for the years that you and I have 18 worked together. And this isn't an ending, 19 it's just a new beginning. Thank you, 20 Charlie. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson. 22 SENATOR PATERSON: Madam 23 President, when I became the Minority Leader 24 of the Senate in the beginning of 2003, 25 Assemblyman Nesbitt became the minority leader

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(518) 371-8910 1 of the Assembly. And for the last three 2 years, the two of us have tried to prevail on 3 the majorities that we can make a contribution 4 in our respective houses. 5 And the pinnacle of that moment was 6 early earlier this year when Governor Pataki, 7 Senator Bruno, and Speaker Silver invited the 8 two of us to be part of the budget 9 negotiations. 10 During that time and all the time I 11 served with him, I found that Leader Nesbitt 12 showed the great skills that he had 13 demonstrated as a fighter pilot in Vietnam, as 14 a businessman in Orleans County, and as a 15 legislator before his elevation to minority 16 leader. 17 But we should really consider that 18 as he leaves, he may be the only leader of a 19 legislative conference who, the one time he 20 was part of the negotiations, we passed the 21 budget on time. It will be a challenge for 22 the rest of us to try to keep that streak 23 going. 24 But I would like to commend to all 25 of you, look at the difference that it made

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(518) 371-8910 1 when the old three-men-in-a-room negotiated 2 the budget with the three men, an officer, and 3 a gentleman. Thank you. 4 (Laughter; applause.) 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz. 6 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, Madam 7 President. 8 I just came to Albany because my 9 son, Assemblyman Reuben Diaz, Jr., who happens 10 to be my boss, he ordered me to come here to 11 congratulate you and to wish you well. 12 And on behalf of my son and my 13 family, we wish you well. And this is a good 14 appointment from Governor Pataki. 15 Thank you. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The question is 17 on the nomination of Charles H. Nesbitt, of 18 Albion, as Commissioner of the Tax Appeals 19 Tribunal. All in favor please signify by 20 saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 23 (No response.) 24 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 25 hereby confirmed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Best wishes for continued success, 2 and congratulations to you. 3 (Applause.) 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 5 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 6 is there any further business at the desk that 7 should come before the Senate? 8 THE PRESIDENT: No, there isn't, 9 Senator. 10 SENATOR BRUNO: There is not? 11 THE PRESIDENT: There is not, 12 Senator Bruno. 13 SENATOR BRUNO: We are happy that 14 we have done the people's work here this 15 afternoon. 16 And let me just make a couple of 17 observations and comments. 18 THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to ask 19 for order, please. 20 Senator, go ahead. 21 SENATOR BRUNO: One, we are in 22 this room because, unlike the imaginary 23 Chicken Little thinking the sky was falling, 24 our ceiling was actually falling in the Senate 25 chamber.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And it was pointed out to me that 2 the first drops of that ceiling landed in my 3 chair. And I was a little bit uncomfortable 4 until I thought it through and realized that 5 Senator Skelos sits there most of the time. 6 (Laughter.) 7 SENATOR BRUNO: It will be 8 repaired, Dean. It will be repaired. And we 9 will be in session, hopefully, when we convene 10 in January. They're working diligently, and 11 with historic preservation being what it is, 12 it is a slow, expensive, and tedious process, 13 but necessary. 14 I want to just, while I'm on my 15 feet, commend Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, the new 16 minority leader in the Assembly. Jim is a 17 colleague, and he is a friend. And Jim is 18 just an outstanding individual that will 19 follow in the leadership role that is vacated 20 by Charlie. 21 Jimmy distinguished himself, as you 22 all know, as a scholar, as an athlete at Union 23 College, an outstanding athlete, a great road 24 runner. Just does everything extremely well. 25 And I am sure that he is going to lead the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Assembly as well as he has accomplished 2 himself throughout his life in everything that 3 he has done. 4 So I know all of you join me in 5 congratulating Assemblyman Jimmy Tedisco in 6 assuming his new leadership role in the 7 Assembly. 8 Thank you, Madam President. 9 (Applause.) 10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 11 Motion? 12 SENATOR BRUNO: And, Madam 13 President, there being no further business, I 14 don't expect that the Senate will be back in 15 session before January regular session '06. 16 So -- aw -- there being no further 17 business to come before the Senate, I would 18 move that everyone -- we stand adjourned and 19 that we enjoy the holidays in a safe and 20 healthy and happy way. 21 And we are going to adjourn subject 22 to the call of the Majority Leader, with 23 intervening days to be legislative days. Safe 24 passage, and I move that we adjourn. 25 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senate now stands adjourned until the call of 2 the Majority Leader. Happy holidays. 3 (Whereupon, at 4:50 p.m., the 4 Senate adjourned.) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910